Finding A Good Handy Person

All right everyone, let’s make this politically correct. Most in this trade are men. But, LandlordAssociation.Org knows some really good women who do a great job fixing up problems around real estate. The issue is to find someone in your market and create a good working relationship.

WHY?

We talked to a part-time landlord last month. He is having problems getting a property ready to rent. He has been cleaning, painting and doing some minor repairs for three months. He’s so busy at his full-time job that he just can’t get to his unit. He has lost so far $500 a month in potential rent, totaling $1,500. Take into account, he still is not ready to rent. I asked him what he was doing to the unit. The work he mentioned would probably take a descent handy man two weeks to complete. I suggested he get a handy man to do the work. His answer was that he did not want to waste money on projects he could do himself, sweat equity, you know. Let’s crunch some numbers. He saved $600 by not hiring some help, while at the same time losing $1,500 in rent. Those are not my kind of numbers.

Sweat equity is important in our business. It improves the bottom line of profitability, but there are times when you do need help.